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UK's Tier 1 Investor Regime Attracts Europeans, Americans; Recovers From Lows
Tom Burroughes
14 December 2021
The market for citizenship/residency-by investment is shifting towards a more “mainstream” model of affluent business folk applying for the UK programme and away from a more controversial ultra-wealthy model, an advisory firm says. Perceptions of such visas are changing, because the kind of people applying for them are not just the mega-rich but often affluent but not ultra-rich entrepreneurs and professional people (scientists, etc) seeking a better life, he said. The UK remains a desirable country for such migrants. “Post-Brexit, the UK is still a leading hub for capital, and particularly on the technology side,” Yazdi said.
The UK’s Tier 1 Investor Visa system, as it is known, has been through a series of changes which, as with other schemes sometimes dubbed “golden visas,” have at times been controversial.
The pandemic, however, threw a wrench into the ability of people to travel and arrange plans – including the wealthiest.
Data for the third quarter of 2021 showed that the Home Office awarded 100 such visas to successful applicants, up from a pandemic-hit 66 and 45 for the second and first quarters of this year, respectively. In 2020, a total of 216 visas were issued; in 2019, the figure was 360. And figures show that mainland China was the largest source of successful applicants (23), followed by Russia (12), the US (10), Canada (8) and Hong Kong (5). Switzerland (2) and France (1) were on the fringes, but it is noticeable to see them apply at all.
After stabilising, the system appears to be recovering. “I see it , said.
“20 years ago, it was mostly Middle Eastern migrants; 10 years ago it was families from the former Soviet bloc moving to the UK then it was…. China, China, and China,” he said.
There has been a shift in demand for investor visas from “first world” nations including the US and France, he said, rather than people fleeing political persecution or economic pressure.
When the Q3 Tier 1 investor figures were released, Yazdi noted that this was the first quarter where the UK removed most COVID restrictions, but the entire world had not fully opened, which was why China and Hong Kong, while still the top nationality of origin, only accounted for 28 per cent – around half of normal levels. Americans continued the trend at 10 per cent, after Russians with 12 per cent of applications issued.
Yazdi said that following Brexit, Europeans are now applying for visas. Applicants come from nations such as France, Cyprus, and Switzerland.
While some of the individuals and families concerned can oversee large sums, the investor visa business is a niche field, and not in the same league as its equivalent in the US, for example, which handles about 10,000 cases a year.
Shard Capital speaks to around 25 to 30 per cent of potential UK Investor Visa applicants, Yazdi said.
“This is a niche specialist area of investment management and we have to urge lawyers and investment managers to be very cautious with their clients. If you get it wrong as a client, you take children out of school, pack your bags and leave, you cannot make that move easily again.”
Shard Capital helps clients by opening a UK FCA regulated investment account for successfully onboarded clients and manages their investments according to the ever-changing immigration rules affecting clients, he added.